'Paint a picture

Choose your colors extra wise

Especially what you put on my mind

Imagine what it be like to touch the sky, yeah, yeah.'

*ALTHEA'S POV*

October 28, 2023.

"Jordon, what convinced you to tell him yes?"

Kylie pointed at my hand, and I couldn't count how many deafening heartbeats it took me to catch the diamond on my shaky finger. Though it must have barely equaled a second, and another to realize I'd dropped the box of tissues, which I instantly bent down to pick up, trying to buy myself some time to think about my answer.

What was I supposed to say in front of Giada, the mother of my 'late' boyfriend who had lied to me about his death and whom she thought was my ex?

"Don't worry about me. Kylie and I both answered honestly, and you can too, carina." Giada offered me a reassuring smile as if reading my thoughts, better than I did as I straightened up, and I didn't know if it was the sudden change in elevation or just the abrupt turn in the conversation, but everything was spinning.

What was I supposed to say now?

Kylie and Giada had replied almost instantly, while I kept rolling my lips together, every thud inside my ribcage echoing in the silence like the countdown to a final sentence, although there was no judgment in their patient gazes, only a sparkle of curiosity and an encouraging look in my best friend's blue eyes.

She knew how bad I was at expressing my emotions, or even processing them. So why had she even asked?

One question at a time. For now, I focused on the ring on my finger.

I remembered well the moment Jordon had opened the robin-egg blue box, the dazzling lights of the New York view behind reflecting in the diamond, the waiter in a three-piece suit showing up with a fresh bottle of champagne barely two seconds after as I'd replied 'yes' instantly.

I could still see it all behind my wide eyes like the scene from a romantic movie. One of those classic old movies though, the six-month-old memories appearing older as the black and white images of my dark sheath dress and Jordon's immaculate Hugo Boss shirt replayed with no sound, or maybe I just couldn't catch the lines of my thoughts over the loud hammering of my heart.

I could barely hear my words in the present.

"I said..."

"Are you ready to check for any adjustments?" The same saleswoman as before walked in, interrupting the trail my voice had been off to, and I didn't know how much time had passed since she'd left, but I rushed to reply,

"Yes, yes, she is!"

Today was about Kylie, and the rest wasn't important. At least, it was what I assured in front of my friend's raised eyebrows, trying to push the previous conversation to the back of my mind.

Yet every time, it came back to the forefront, hers and Giada's answers, the question that had followed, and my interrupted words...

What had I been about to say?

I still wasn't sure as my thoughts whirled faster and faster, as if trying to race against the erratic beats of my heart, even though both were coursing in opposite directions, and between the two, it was impossible to find reason, or even my breath.

I was looking for the latter first as I slipped out of the fitting room discreetly, not wanting more questions. I only needed to... pull in the air. Push out the tensions. Pull in the air. Push out the tensions...

Within a few inhales, I managed to taste the oxygen in my lungs, my head clearing with my deep sighs, not enough to think, yet at least, I could take in my surroundings: the box of tissues I was still gripping, my wide eyes in the mirror on my right, and the colorful fabrics in the hanging rails, making me wonder for a second if I'd stepped into another store before I caught the silvery 'guests clothing' sign.

I'd probably walked towards this secluded corner out of instinct, to avoid people's eyes but also because all the pale shades around could be so dizzying.

White was empty and cold, while colors were life, and black was... Black was her.

I almost glimpsed her silhouette haunting me from the corner of my eye until I realized it was only my reflection in the mirror.

It wasn't much different, however. The more I stared at my slim figure in a light charcoal sweater and slate dress pants, the more it blurred into the ghost from my memories.

I'd become this ghost I'd sworn to never be.

To think I'd tried so much to not be like her, to be stronger. But had I ever been?

My whole wardrobe was in dark shades, well, the one that hadn't been sealed into boxes in the attic of my apartment for more than three years.

This had been the problem. I hadn't chosen to wear dark. I just couldn't wear anything else.

Sky blue? No, it brought back too many high school memories of Asher's basketball jersey. Red? No, he'd loved when I'd been wearing red lace. Any shade of green was out of the question. Orangey? Impossible. Golden? No, it was the Lakers' color.

Every color had reminded me of him, and sporting them had been like wearing polyester on fire, searing me with memories.

Maybe it had been what she'd thought too, until even the world around had been too much?

I realized I would never know as my fingers grazed the rainbow-ordered dresses before me, and another kind of warmth was spreading from there, like the first rays of sunrise after the darkest nights, engulfing the sky in shades of scarlet, tangerine...

"Oh, this coral fabric is bellissima!" Giada's voice pulled me out of my thoughts, as swiftly as her hands pulled the dress my fingers had been brushing mindlessly out of the clothes rail. "Are you looking for a dress for Kylie and Paxton's wedding?"

"Um, I... yes, I am." I nodded, as it was better than admitting I'd been having an existential crisis in the back corner of a wedding dress store.

"You should try this one if you like it then. It looks like it's made for you, carina."

"Yes, it's gorgeous, but..."

"But what?" Giada's lifted eyebrow found my gaze through the mirror as she put the long dress in front of me and turned me to my reflection, and whatever I'd been about to say got lost with my breath between my parting lips.

She was right. From its plunging neckline that would undoubtedly highlight my B-cups to the flowing gown that wouldn't need adjustments to fit my height, and from the chiffon fabric so soft under my fingers to the tag showing my size, it looked—

"Perfect!"

I didn't get to check the prize though, as Giada pulled it away.

"It's my treat to thank you for everything."

"What? No, no, it's really kind of you, but you don't have to thank me for anything." I turned to face her, grabbing the dress with a delicate yet firm movement, which didn't even make her assured smile waver.

"Well, then, it'll be to catch up for all the birthday gifts you missed." She shrugged, already waving at a saleswoman passing by. "Excuse me, is it possible to try this one, and... maybe another one you like?"

"No, no, I think this one will be perfect." I smiled, following them after one last glance at my reflection with the coral dress, as I knew it would be useless to argue.

Giada rarely gave up when she had something in mind, and there was only one person on this earth more stubborn than her.

***

*ASHER'S POV*

October 30, 2023.

"Now?" Althea gasped, her big doe eyes staring at me like... "Are you crazy?"

Yes, that too.

"Do you realize we're one day away from Halloween, and I haven't finished the kids' costumes yet?" she added, her gaze widening again, though, in all of this, she hadn't let a definitive 'no' out of her pursing lips.

That was a good sign. Not that it had ever stopped me.

"Carol of-fered to do it since she isn't working today, and my mom will join."

"I can't let them do all the work."

"Not 'all the work'. Only the tiny details left." I cocked an eyebrow, half in amusement, half in question since she was usually more measured.

Was I rubbing off on her?

Maybe, and in exchange, she must have transmitted me her patience because I'd barely seen her through all weekend with how much she'd been working on the costumes, and I hadn't complained or thrown the clothes out of the window yet. I'd been patiently preparing for today.

"And Carol and my mom agreed to not let you touch a needle today."

"What if I want to work on my presentation? I still have a lot to prepare," she argued, crossing her arms over her chest.

Too bad for her. I had my counter-arguments ready.

"There's more than work in life."

The only case I couldn't win was if she decided to run, her gaze dashing around the quiet parking lot already making my heart race.

But finally, she caught my breath when she took a step closer, and her eyes landed back on mine. "You're the one saying this, when two weeks ago you didn't want to go anywhere because 'you had work'?"

"But you f-forced me to go out and reminded me that. So it's payback, Peachy." I raised my chin, holding her gaze as I pushed my wheelchair closer to whisper. "Let me thank you."

Still no agreement, nor refusal, but a smile was about to break through her plump lips, and it just needed a little push.

"You don't have to—"

"And you'll have time to work during the four-hour drive."

"How can I drive and work?" She chuckled, the corners of her lips almost tugging up when they fell into an O. "Wait, 'four hours'? You mean round trip?"

"Don't worry 'bout it. You're not driving, and neither I," I explained before she could give me the same frightened stare as Carol when I'd told her I wanted to take Althea on a day trip.

You had one fatal accident, and no one trusted you. Now, even if it hadn't been my fault, I had to retake lessons to drive with an adapted car.

I still wondered why I'd even signed up for that... Oh right, same reason as to why the four-hour outward journey in the backseat didn't appear like a pain in the ass, on the contrary, when a large SUV entered the parking lot.

"A taxi? You really didn't have to. I could have driven." Althea shook her head, lifting the car keys she was still holding in her hand as I'd surprised her as soon as she'd stepped out of her car, and I would never admit since how early I'd been waiting in the fresh morning.

"Don't want to ruin the surprise."

"You won't tell me anything?" She lifted an eyebrow, as it was one of the rare things she knew for sure. "Can I at least know if my outfit is okay for where we're going?"

"Perfect." I let my gaze trail down her body—as if I hadn't caught already her baby blue cardigan, tight jeans, and sneakers—enjoying the round trip from the shoulder her top was showing off to those thighs I loved so much and all the way up to her peachy... Wait, was that a smile?

Yes, it was, a real, bashful, Peachy smile, and even if I barely caught a glimpse before she turned to the driver greeting us, I took it as an agreement, especially when she got into the car.

Now, I could only hope I would see more of that smile today.

I'd never doubted more one of my ideas, although I'd had way crazier ones, I'd taken her to much crazier places—in every meaning of the word.

That was the thing. Before, even when we ended up in crappy motels or under a leaking tent on a stormy night, I would make it up to her and make her forget where she was. I couldn't anymore. Like, even if I'd checked a million times the weather reports for any sign of clouds and the Google map to avoid parking anywhere near a cemetery, I couldn't predict her reaction.

The Althea I'd known would have loved it, but 'maybe she'd changed'.

Watching her rolling her lips in concentration as she moved the stylus smoothly on her tablet screen despite the car's steady vibrations, the strap of her black tank top peaking from under her baby blue cardigan, it was hard to guess.

"Do you plan on staring at me during the four hours?" She pulled me out of my thoughts, pausing the expert movements of her hands to focus her dark gaze on me with that familiar look. That look that could have stopped the world if she'd wanted to.

It stopped my world, moving my center of gravity towards her as I replied, "Yeah, unless you have other ideas to p-pass time?"

I had a lot as she leaned an inch closer, my attention flickering between her plump lips and the sparkle appearing in her deep brown eyes.

"You could look at the scenery."

"Nah. You're more interesting." I shrugged, not even sparing a glance at whatever desert landscape she was nodding to behind me and that would still be there in a hundred years, contrary to her.

She was leaving in two days. That, I couldn't forget.

Sure she would return for Kylie and Paxton's wedding, as my mom kept repeating, but it would only be for a couple of days, where she would be busy saying goodbye to everyone, and then, when would she come back?

It was the few possible answers that made me soak in every little detail, even as she shook her head and went back to her tablet.

She definitely was more interesting than any World Heritage Site when she was drawing, from the slight indent deepening and smoothing between her eyebrows to the swell of her lower lip she kept pulling between her teeth, and to her hand gliding with every line she traced.

"You don't use paper to draw?"

"Oh yes, I did, but here, I'm making 3D models for the items I couldn't get into samples because I need as many media as possible to convince the whole board, especially with my new idea..."

Maybe she hadn't changed much; her doe eyes still held that spark of passion every time she talked about her designs, and her pinched lips, all the doubts she didn't dare even say out loud.

"You're mad talented, and it's a great cause, they can't say no."

"They can if they judge the production costs too high, and from my calculations, they'll be higher with the adaptations."

"How much?"

Her wince gave me an idea already, but I wanted a number.

"Here, you can look." She tapped on the screen before handing me the tablet. "Maths are not my specialty, but Jordon double-checked it, and there shouldn't be any mistake."

Her fiancé. Of course, she'd asked Mr. CEO in finance, with a billion-worth company and a functioning body, while I... I could only give her a mumble.

"It's still prof'table."

"You know profitable is often not enough. They always want more."

"They'll have more: the renown of being the first to do som'thing like that in their field. P-pride should count in the calculation," I tried to assure her and bring back her smile. "And I can ask Pax to help. He's the best to scrimp on tight b-budgets."

I had a brother; that was my flex now. Ironic when I'd used to make fun of his nerdy ways at the time that I'd used to get girls in my bed with just a smile.

Not that I was trying to get Althea in my bed or to get her at all. She was better with her fiancé.

That, I was fully aware of it. But my body didn't seem to get the message, and no matter how much my ribcage clenched every time she mentioned his name and my stomach shriveled every time the thought crossed my mind, it didn't stop the flutters of excitation to go wild in there when we finally reached our destination, and after a long wide-eyed glance around, her gaze found mine again, brighter than ever.

It was like all the yellow, orange, and red from the banners, pumpkins, cornstalks, and flowers around were shining in the dark brown shades, along with a wide grin she kept rolling together.

"A fall colors festival? It's incredible! But did you really have to take me on a four-hour trip for this?"

I could have taken her to the moon to see that smile, but NASA being unreachable in so little time, I settled for someone else, and she'd gotten my text as she appeared on the other side of the road right at this moment.

"Who said tis' the only surprise?"

Who do you think it is?

 We'll get more clues in the next flashback chapter... 👀 Yes, yes, it'll be a flashback, and one you don't want to miss! 🤭🤫

But in the meantime, tell me what you think about this chapter, from her unanswered questions to Asher's surprise? Do you think Althea has changed or not? 🤔

Also, don't forget to vote ⭐ if you like this story so far!!

Your support means the world to me!! 🤩🥰 I love you, my little Peaches! 😘❤️🍑✨